


home for the holidays (& home is where the heart is)

by notveryglittery (darlingdany)



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Baking, Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Snowed In, Texting, background romantic logince & background however you like thvi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 15:43:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16915686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingdany/pseuds/notveryglittery
Summary: declan and patton spend the first night of winter break vacation together.





	home for the holidays (& home is where the heart is)

**Author's Note:**

> **warnings:** sympathetic deceit, slight panic, very brief alcohol mention, accidental burn injury. 
> 
> ok this is the first thing i’ve managed to write in a month and i’m kinda proud of it?? it’s a human/college au in which the sides + thomas are on winter break, visiting and staying at a cute cabin in a small town near school. this is the snowed in prompt from @[sanderssidescelebrations](https://sanderssidescelebrations.tumblr.com)!! 
> 
> check the end for a few more author’s notes :) i hope you enjoy!!

This was all going _exactly_ according to plan.

Scowling out the window and at the storm outside, Declan huffed in frustration. His breath fogged the glass and he rolled his eyes. What was he supposed to do now? Not only was the snow supposed to have waited until tomorrow to come through, he wasn’t supposed to have been trapped in this cabin when it did. It wasn’t like they were at a loss for heat or supplies; everything was in working order and the kitchen was well stocked. It was that it was “they” to begin with. 

Quite suddenly, the cheerful notes of a Christmas song he was only vaguely familiar with began to play from the entertainment center. Declan turned to face the sound to find Patton beaming at him, hands fidgeting with the hem of his sweater. 

“I thought it was a bit quiet!” Patton chirped, gesturing to the speakers. “It was a little eerie with just the wind and well, uh, you know how I am with… uhm. Silence.” Patton’s voice trailed off as he looked away and the air in the room grew thick with tension. 

Declan, despite his slightly foul mood and the unfortunate circumstance they were in, found himself gazing at Patton with an expression that Roman would call “twitterpated.” Shaking his head to snap himself out of it, Declan closed the distance between them, and threw an arm around Patton’s shoulders. He tugged Patton along towards the kitchen, gesturing with his free hand as he did so. 

“If we’re going to be stuck here alone for the night,” and Declan prayed it would be just the one night and that the others would make it back by tomorrow afternoon because he was _so_ sure he could handle any more than that, “we might as well make it worth it, right?” 

Patton brightened instantly, nodding with fervor. “I was going through the pantry! There’s all the fixings to make cookies! Oh! There’s pizza in the freezer, too!” 

Declan watched fondly as Patton slipped from his hold and hurried around the room, throwing open various cupboards to retrieve everything they’d need. Sure enough, the counters were soon covered in various containers of flour, sugar, and chocolate chips as well as enough mixing bowls to make four different kinds of cookies. Declan wouldn’t be surprised if it came to that. 

While Patton got together the baking station, Declan prepared a frozen pizza (Hawaiian and Declan supposed he’d allow pineapple on pizza this time around since it happened to be Patton’s favorite) for when the oven finished preheating. Patton was going on about what a bummer it was for just the two of them to end up stuck at the cabin. This _had_ been a winter break getaway for their group of six but the tragedies struck one after the other. 

Roman forgot an entire suitcase worth of clothes at school and so he’d had to go back for it, insisting that Logan join him because his phone was low battery and what if it died while he was on the road, and he couldn’t find his way back without GPS? Logan knew the quaint little town like the back of his hand, having grown up in it. He hadn’t complained, claiming that he’d like to grab a few textbooks, anyway, so that he might get some studying in during their down time. Patton had, of course, insisted that there would be no school work during vacation and made Roman pinky promise he wouldn’t let Logan go anywhere near his own dorm. 

Virgil and Thomas, on the other hand, went out to buy a few bottles of various cream liqueurs to mix in with their hot chocolate and coffee. None of them were heavy drinkers but just the right amount of alcohol in a warm drink sometimes made the difference, _especially_ after finishing finals. Every time they’d nearly been ready to leave the store, a message would be sent to their group chat, asking for them to get this or that as well, which prolonged their trip _just_ enough.

The storm hit so suddenly, the entire town seemed to go on lockdown in minutes.

Virgil was rapid fire texting them, panicking on whether or not Logan and Roman had made it back to campus in time, and asking if the cabin still had power. The pair weren’t finished with their drive just yet but they’d cleared the inclement weather by quite a few miles. Patton and Declan still had electricity but the snow was coming down far too fast and heavy for them to do much. Besides, there were only two cars and it wasn’t like they could get anywhere better. 

For the next half hour, Thomas kept them updated on the fact that it seemed they would be stuck at the grocery store until morning, when the streets could be cleared. Virgil had argued with the store owners that they couldn’t just _stay_ there but when a police officer arrived and deemed it too dangerous to be on the road, Virgil had finally relented. Besides, their car didn’t have snow chains on the tires, and after some coaxing from Thomas, it was decided. Thankfully, the proprietors were ridiculously prepared for such a dilemma, and had blankets to go around and keep their customers warm. 

“Dee. Sugar?” Patton spoke, pulling Declan from his wandering thoughts. 

Warmth spread along his cheeks as he gaped at Patton. “Pardon?”

Patton looked up from where he was pouring flour into a bowl. “The sugar?” He asked, tilting his head. “Or am I making these cookies on my own?” His tone was light and teasing and Declan wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take _and it had barely been two hours._

“You’d burn them without my help,” Declan said, eyebrows raising in what was sometimes a pretty good tell that he was fibbing. Not that it would have mattered since Patton seemed to have a sixth sense in knowing whether or not Declan was telling the truth. This was obviously a blatant lie to anyone who would have heard, anyway, because Patton was literally majoring in culinary (pastry) arts. 

Declan assisted where he could, even if that just meant cleaning up the dishes and workspace as they went. The pizza went in the oven while Patton was mixing in the chocolate chips. Declan leaned against the counter, arms folded loosely over his chest, and watched. The playlist Patton had turned on earlier was blaring Mariah Carey, because of course it was, and Declan let the sappy song wash over him. Patton hummed along, tapping his feet and bobbing his head. 

Before Declan could tear his gaze away, Patton spun to face him, holding the wooden spoon to his mouth like a microphone. 

“ _Make my wish come true,_ ” he sang, throwing one arm into the air. “ _Baby, all I want for Christmas is you~_ ” 

Declan couldn’t believe this was how he died. 

Patton sashayed and shimmied around the kitchen. He certainly wasn’t coordinated when it came to singing and dancing but he was having so much fun and Declan felt very much so like he needed to stab something to earn back his cool and aloof exterior. His phone, thankfully, chose that moment to start ringing. 

Patton looked to him curiously but Declan waved dismissively as he headed to a quieter part of the house to answer the call. The moment he was out of view, Patton returned the wooden spoon to the bowl and grabbed his own phone so quickly he nearly dropped it into the cookie dough. Opening Facebook messenger, he found his direct messages with Virgil, and started typing.

 **snow angel:** ajskdfkjlhsf  
**snow angel:** viRGIL HELP  
**snow angel:** he’s so CUTE i dont know whAT TO DO  
**snow angel:** please can you mAKE IT BACK TONIGHT 

For thirty agonizing seconds, the texts went unread. 

Until they suddenly weren’t and a bouncing ellipses appeared as Virgil began to reply.

 **ghost of xmas present:** oh my god  
**ghost of xmas present:** pat, seriously??????  
**ghost of xmas present:** we have talked abt this. like… a LOT

Patton worried his bottom lip between his teeth and glanced in the direction Declan had left. Who knew how much more time he had?? 

**ghost of xmas present:** PLEASE just tell him already  
**snow angel:** WHAT  
**snow angel:** i canT DO THAT  
**snow angel:** i dont even know if he likes me back!!!!!!!

(Thomas watched, half amused and half intrigued, as Virgil slapped a palm against his forehead.)

 **ghost of xmas present:** ok patton. listen. are you listening.  
**snow angel:** linda, listen  
**ghost of xmas present:** …  
**ghost of xmas present:** if you confess and declan _doesn’t_ like you, then i will literally buy you all the ingredients to make your own cookies for the rest of our lives. 

Patton was going to open his own bakery. This was a pretty big offer. He paced back and forth a bit, debating. Even if he told Declan how he felt and the feelings weren’t returned, Patton knew they could continue to be friends. Their group was too tight knit to let something like that tear them apart. Sure, it’d hurt for a little bit, but Patton could handle that. … Right? 

**ghost of xmas present:** oh, speak of the devil 

Patton jolted, rereading the message three more times just in case.

 **snow angel:** virgil???? what do you mean????? 

It remained unread. 

**ho ho homicide:** this had better be good  
**dec the halls:** he’s jusT AWFUL what do i DO  
**ho ho homicide:** you goddamn disaster gay  
**dec the halls:** i absolutely hate him  
**dec the halls:** i can definitely handle this  
**ho ho homicide:** ok slow down  
**dec the halls:** everything is great  
**dec the halls:** the building is on fire and this is fine  
**ho ho homicide:** DUDE  
**ho ho homicide:** shuT THE HELL UP  
**ho ho homicide:** lisTEN TO ME  
**dec the halls:** linda  
**ho ho homicide:** wow you two are made for each other 

Declan tripped over the rug in the bedroom he was currently pacing and nearly slammed face first into the corner of a dresser. He hated when Virgil said things like that, it wasn’t _fair._ He threw himself onto the bed and buried his face into a pillow until his phone buzzed, alerting him to another message. 

**ho ho homicide:** i will let you have one of my most prized records if you confess to patton and he ends up not liking you back. 

Declan thought about the Fall Out Boy vinyl Virgil had scored during Black Friday, the last of its kind without spending money (that no college student had) on shipping. 

**dec the halls:** deal

He pocketed his phone and returned to the kitchen. Patton was rolling the cookie dough into balls, all perfectly sized and placed evenly on the baking sheet. His hair looked a little messier than it had when Declan left; there was flour in it that had not been there before. Patton paused and smiled at him. It was the soft smile they all knew he had reserved for things he was especially partial to, like cats and dogs and… Declan realized suddenly that he caught Patton very often looking at him with that grin. 

“The pizza is done,” Patton said, gesturing towards the oven with a nod of his head. 

Declan blinked out of his daze and pulled on a pair of oven mitts before turning the oven off momentarily, taking their dinner out from it, and setting it aside to cool. 

“Important call?” Patton asked as he adjusted the oven’s temperature. 

“Just Roman,” Declan answered, “he’s very excited about being back at school already.”

Patton giggled. “Poor thing. I think he was the most excited about this trip.” 

“I don’t know,” Declan countered, dipping a finger into the bowl and scooping a bit of cookie dough out. He popped it into his mouth and let his eyelids flutter shut at the taste. When he opened his eyes, Patton was staring rather unabashedly at his lips. Declan smirked. “All this quality time together sounded terribly unappealing, if I’m being honest.”

Patton’s gaze snapped up to meet Declan’s. “Are you ever?” He asked quietly, shifting closer.

Declan hummed, brushing a hand against Patton’s forearm. “When it matters most.”

The oven beeped, re-preheated, and the two leapt apart as if electrocuted. 

“These cookies aren’t going to bake themselves!” Patton exclaimed, grabbing the tray and, with movements far more uncoordinated than usual, went to open the oven door. Declan was no stranger to disaster (as Virgil had just so kindly reminded him) and so while he anticipated what would happen next, he wasn’t quick enough to prevent it.

The tray clattered to the tile as Patton yelped in pain, lurching away and shoving his thumb into his mouth. The balls of dough went rolling across the floor and the oven door slammed shut as Patton recoiled from it. Declan had an arm around him in seconds, guiding him towards the sink. 

“Hurts,” Patton whined from around the digit, tears gathering in his eyes. 

“I know,” Declan reassured, “I’m sorry. Here.” 

He turned the faucet on, testing the water before tugging Patton’s hand down towards the stream. Patton hissed as the liquid first came in contact with the burn but only a moment later, he was half slumped against the counter and half into Declan as the pain lessened. 

“You don’t need to apologize,” Patton said, looking up at Declan, who had him wrapped still in one arm. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I could’ve been paying less attention,” he disagreed.

“We were pretty distracted,” Patton offered, hesitantly. 

For a moment, nothing followed but the sound of running water and Perry Como singing about how there was no place like home for the holidays. Declan thought that _home is where the heart is_ a silly notion but Patton was notoriously referred to as the heart of their friend group and he actually liked the sound of that quite a bit— 

Patton had looked away. He turned the faucet off and pulled from Declan’s embrace. 

“I’m going to check the medicine cabinet in the bathroom for something to put on this,” he murmured, leaving before Declan could say anything else. 

The playlist came to an end and silence fell once more over the cabin. Declan, almost mechanically, used the remaining dough to make another batch before carefully putting them into the oven. He set the timer for less time than probably necessary (better safe than sorry). He cleaned up the mess off the floor and set the dishes in the sink to soak. 

Wandering out of the kitchen, Declan found the outlet in the living room that Patton seemed to have planned to plug the fairy lights into. He’d brought them from his dorm, hoping to make their stay feel cozier, and had strung them up when they first arrived. It hadn’t taken long with Roman’s help. Declan turned them on and they bathed the room in warm yellow. 

“Oh,” came a gasp from behind him. 

Declan looked to find Patton, hands clasped beneath his chin. His thumb was bandaged. 

“It looks beautiful.” 

“Not nearly as lovely as you.”

Patton, eyes wide in awe and mouth parted slightly in surprise, truly did make quite the vision. His curls were messy still with flour and his cheeks glowing just rosily enough. The purples and blues of his sweater complemented him nicely and Declan couldn’t take it anymore. If anything, he’d get that Fall Out Boy record out of this. 

“I like you.”

“ _I like you!_ ”

Spoken within the same breath, Declan and Patton stared at one other in disbelief.

“Wait.”

“What??”

Another moment of stunned silence before Patton began laughing. 

“So much for never having to buy my own stock,” he said between giggles. 

Declan would ask later. 

“You…” 

“ _Yeah!_ ” Patton answered earnestly, swooping so quickly into Declan’s space, it made him dizzy. “Yes! I do. I have! For… oh, it feels like ages. Do you remember sophomore year when they set up that event in the quad with just, like, all the dogs in the world? And they were letting any student that wanted to play for as long as they needed? To relax?” 

Declan nodded. 

“I saw you there with the smallest little yorkie and even as I made sure to meet every pooch I could, you still gave the most attention to her, and I was just… drawn to you, I guess.” Patton paused, before adding jokingly, “or maybe it was that she was the last one I needed to pet.”

Declan nodded.

“You were kind of closed off and even when I did manage to get something out of you, I couldn’t make heads or _tails_ of what you were saying. I remember thinking that you had the prettiest eyes…” 

Declan blinked. He’d grown up with kids thinking his mismatched irises were weird and while that certainly wasn’t the case any longer, it tended still to be a sore subject for him. 

“Eventually, you just handed me that pupper and walked off. I thought I’d never see you again.” Patton frowned. “Until… well, you know the rest!! Roman invited us to an after party for that year’s show and… there you were.” 

“Here I am,” Declan whispered, feeling a bit like he couldn’t breathe. 

Patton chuckled, glancing down long enough to find one of Declan’s hands and take it in his own. When he looked back up, he kept his gaze somewhere just over Declan’s left shoulder.

“I guess I sort of wanted something to happen on this trip but I didn’t wanna get my hopes up…” 

A particularly strong gust of wind rattled the window panes and Patton flinched at the noise. Declan fully snapped out of his reverie. He pressed his free hand against the small of Patton’s back and pulled him closer, tucking Patton’s head underneath his chin. 

“We were juniors and we had the same free time on our Tuesday-Thursdays,” Declan said, shifting so that it wouldn’t be as awkward to talk given their position. “Logan joined you sometimes in the library to study but… usually you found the sunniest spot and every time I walked by, you just…” Declan paused long enough for Patton to pull back in concern and look up at him. 

Declan floundered. “You were just hideous, all radiant in the light and so relaxed and focused, it was the worst, my stomach flipped at the sight… Because I was just so. Nauseous.”

Patton snickered, using their still connected hands to lead the way to the couch. They settled into it comfortably, sitting closely. It took some time but they talked about their feelings and what they’d do next and how soon they’d tell the others. It was a bit of up and down, what with Declan’s penchant for lying, and Patton’s tangents, but they got there. Were it not for the oven reminding them of the cookies, they might have stayed curled up together forever. 

Eventually, however, they were settled again with a plate of cookies and pizza, some Netflix original holiday movie on in the background while they flirted and teased. A selfie was sent to the group chat towards the end of the night from Patton and followed with a few winking emojis from Declan. Had they not silenced their phones and returned to their movie, they would’ve seen just how many messages came through afterwards. 

( **merry bitchmas ⛄️** : aksjdfhlkdsjfhksjdfh  
**jingle hells 🔔** : FINALLY  
**merry bitchmas ⛄️** : i’m sCREAMING  
**oh chemistree 🎄** : He really is.  
**thomistle toe 💋** : !!!! congrats guys!!!  
**merry bitchmas ⛄️** : i thi nK I’m go nNA FAINT  
**oh chemistree 🎄** : Please do not.  
**oh chemistree 🎄** : Oh, and congratulations, you two. It is about time.  
**jingle hells 🔔** : this is absolutely thanks to me btw. yw.)

**Author's Note:**

> read on tumblr at [notveryglittery](https://notveryglittery.tumblr.com/post/180940814417/)!
> 
>  **1.** shout out to [jensen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/purediscordhell/), [dallas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldsocks/), and [moon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_In_The_Stars/) for the words “stab, gay, beautiful, lovely, fairy lights, yellow” and picking deceit and patton as characters for this fic ;) 
> 
> **2.** virgil’s nickname in his chat with patton is “ghost of xmas present.” patton gave it to him because he considers virgil and their friendship a gift. 
> 
> **3.** group chat in order of appearance goes: roman, virgil, logan, thomas. thank you to [moon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_In_The_Stars/) for logan’s nickname! 
> 
> **4.** this was intended to be background romantic logince and you’re free to see background romantic thvi as well, if you like! i’m also kind of imagining logan and virgil are brothers. 
> 
> **5.** and finally, this moceit fluff is for [nick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumducky/) <3


End file.
